I suspect that since he was shot in the back, some of the pellets may have caused some spinal issues (though evidently no paralysis, fortunately). In a defensive situation, we're obviously more likely to face a frontal or lateral shot, versus a shot to the opponent's back. This requires more penetration to get to the CNS or vital organs.

Also, a 65 year old man is atypical of the combatant we're likely to face on the street, who is very likely to be under 25 years old.

Interesting thread. I stopped carrying cci snake shot in my 38 special when I noticed that when I fired at a cardboard IDPA target, at 10 ft - not one of the pellets actually went through the target. Many seemed to bound off or get stuck in the cardboard. The pellet pattern was also not particularly impressive either.

Given my woeful experience with the CCI snake shot, I am now wondering what brand of ammo was used by the perp referenced in the original post. Any idea?

Interesting thread. I stopped carrying cci snake shot in my 38 special when I noticed that when I fired at a cardboard IDPA target, at 10 ft - not one of the pellets actually went through the target. Many seemed to bound off or get stuck in the cardboard. The pellet pattern was also not particularly impressive either.

Given my woeful experience with the CCI snake shot, I am now wondering what brand of ammo was used by the perp referenced in the original post. Any idea?

Interesting thread. I stopped carrying cci snake shot in my 38 special when I noticed that when I fired at a cardboard IDPA target, at 10 ft - not one of the pellets actually went through the target. Many seemed to bound off or get stuck in the cardboard. The pellet pattern was also not particularly impressive either.

...

Was that from a short-barrel gun? These loads, more so that regular ammo, seem to need a longer (4"+) barrel to get up to speed. When I've shot them in short snubbies, they appeared to be VERY weak, similar to what you described.

Weirdly enough, the longer barrel imparts more velocity, but the shorter barrels pattern the shot better. Once you get the payload spinning at higher speed (as in the longer barrels), the pattern gets thin and sometimes rather donut-shaped (big empty hole near the middle).